New to the team in 2023, Maeve joins Team dsm-firmenich after spending most of her career so far on the boards, competing against the very best in the world of track cycling. She’s been a seven-time Australian champion in the madison, team pursuit, omnium, and the road time trial, which she followed up in 2022 with victory in the individual pursuit at the track World Cup in Milton.
Cycling wasn’t Maeve’s first love though and instead she “grew up in a sporting family”, doing a lot of swimming, whether that be in the pool or the ocean. Combining surf livesaving, which Maeve admits is a weird sport to most Europeans, plus endurance and ocean swimming where she did the five-kilometre event, she was introduced to cycling through a talent identification program in Australia which put her on a track bike.
At that time in her local region, cycling wasn’t a big sport so Maeve “got a lot of weird looks”, but she really enjoyed it and after dabbling in triathlon she made the full switch over in her mid-teens, where that decision was made a lot easier when she “started to get some success.”
Stereotypically Australian with her outgoing and talkative personality, Maeve would describe herself as “determined”, a “life enjoyer” and a “try hard”. Someone that can switch off from the bike, thanks to her different hobbies or by studying [she’s currently doing a Marine Biology degree], Maeve thinks that ability to differentiate her on and off the bike lifestyle gives her more energy for both.
Recalling a story about her youth while laughing, it’s clear that Maeve’s “determined” and “try-hard” nature shines through.
“I have always been driven by personal bests and beating myself, so when I was 11 or 12 my parents thought I was crazy as I did time trials and made spreadsheets for my wall, writing in all of the different times.”
Transferring that to her current place in the peloton, she also thinks she is open to being vulnerable and that will help her find her feet as she gets to grips with a more complete calendar in the hectic European road racing scene.
“I’ll put my hand up and give something a go and put myself in uncomfortable positions. Sometimes I do fail at it but that’s ok, as I can then learn for the next time.”
With that go-getter attitude, Maeve is looking forward to rubbing shoulders with the world’s best in the peloton and taking part in the races that she has watched on TV.
Away from the bike, Maeve very much enjoys her studies, but she also likes to switch off and relax at the beach with friends and family. Still very much at home in the water, she likes to go out diving when possible, although she’s not sure how much of that she’ll do in Europe, while more recently she’s rekindled her passion for photography and drawing.
